Steel Division 2 News

Hello commanders,

We hope you are well! In today’s post, we’ll return to one of Steel Division 2’s upcoming expansions, Steel Division 2: Tribute to Normandy 44. This DevBlog shows off some more tidbits about two new Aces to be featured, as well as some upcoming balance changes.

[h2]Some new insights[/h2]
We already announced six Aces coming with Steel Division 2: Tribute to Normandy 44, as detailed in this DevBlog. As some of you shrewdly noticed, we missed one Ace from the original Steel Division: Normandy ‘44, belonging to a formation announced to ship with our new expansion. We are talking about the Axis tank commander Kurt Knispel. He served in the schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503, which will be attached to the 16. Luftwaffe-Feld-Division.

The reason we didn’t mention Knispel before was that we had an uneven number of Aces. We wanted to keep one in “reserve” before we had found a suitable Allied counterpart. A mission that has been accomplished!



So, let’s welcome 2 new Aces to the stage at Steel Division 2: Tribute to Normandy ‘44. This brings the total to 8 Aces!

[h2]Kurt Knispel[/h2]
Though much less famous than Michael Wittmann or other Nazi propaganda darlings, Knispel is probably the greatest Panzer ace in military history. With 168 confirmed kills, which could rise to 195 if considering unconfirmed ones, he was quite unusual for a German tank commander. Not even a “true” German, but rather a Volksdeutsche born in Czechoslovakia in 1921 in Sudetenland before the Third Reich annexed it.



Unlike other commanders, he paid little attention to his kill tally, competition, or fame, in certain cases willingly leaving comrades to take credit. Neither did he care much for discipline, grooming standards, or dress codes (which can be noticed in some of his World War II photos). He sported long hair, a goatee, and wore custom-made re-trimmed uniforms, and was known to have assaulted a fellow German officer for mistreating Russian POWs.

Knispel was definitely not a Nazi poster boy, and despite his kill ratio, he never became an officer, remaining a sergeant up to the end of World War II. He died in the last days of the war, on the Eastern Front, when hit in the head by shrapnel standing in the commander’s cupola of his tank.

In Steel Division 2: Tribute to Normandy ‘44, he will be featured with his Zimmerit-covered "101" KÖNIGSTIGER (P) available with the 16. Luftwaffe-Feld-Division.



[h2]David Vivian Currie[/h2]
This new Allied Ace was not featured in the original Steel Division, thus exclusive to Steel Division 2: Tribute to Normandy ‘44. Currie ships as part of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division. Having joined the regular Canadian Army in 1940 as an officer, he won’t see combat until 1944. In the meantime, he managed to rise in the ranks to major. Currie commanded a squadron in the division’s reconnaissance regiment: the South Alberta Regiment.



Our Ace landed in Normandy in late August 1944, taking part in the last battles of the campaign. On August 18th, with only ten days of actual combat experience, Currie was given the military order that would ultimately secure his place in Canadian military history. He took command of a mixed force of infantry and tanks and led them in the path of the remaining Axis forces desperately trying to escape the Falaise pocket. Blocking the last exit for the Germans - and holding it until American troops from either side could link up - resulted in furious combat. Successful, Currie became "the man who closed the Falaise pocket.”



In Steel Division 2: Tribute to Normandy ‘44 Currie will be featured as a COMMANDER with the 4th Canadian Armoured Division.

[h2]Upcoming Balance Changes[/h2]
You might be happy to know that Steel Division 2: Tribute to Normandy ‘44 is almost done. We are now looking for a suitable release date, which we will announce shortly. In the meantime, the dedicated Strike Team will soon have the green light to stream the expansion’s content!

With the launch of the expansion, as always, we’ll also feature some changes (for all owners of Steel Division 2). The following are just a couple of examples:

• We will tone down the effectiveness of Commando infantry, especially those in the 1st Allied Task Force, Groupement Dody, and SSB, including tweaking the latter’s division off-map support.
  
• We are reducing the infantry’s Fall Back mechanic’s damage reduction. This means retreating soldiers will be more prone to take damage, especially from tanks.
  
• We are reducing sniper rifles DPS by decreasing their aim time and rate of fire.
  
• We are standardizing the 7.62mm HMGs stats: while some remain better than others, we want to fix the abysmal performance of some older models.
  
• We will check and give some balancing “love” to older divisions that haven’t been touched in a while.

More changes will come. The above is just a short preview.

[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
That’s all for this DevBlog. We will be back in two weeks!

Don’t be shy, join the Steel Division 2 community on our Steam forums. The latest Steel Division 2 news can also be encountered on our Instagram.

Looking for an online game? Visit the Discord server or Reddit page and get involved with the lively Steel Division 2 community!

See you on the battlefield, commanders!

Hello commanders!

We hope you are well. In today’s DevBlog, we’ll give you a brief status report on Steel Division 2, and specifically its next expansion, Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44.

As you might have noticed, we have entered a quieter development period. Updates will be a bit less frequent - the DevBlog now pops up every two weeks - but make no mistake, we are still working on Steel Division 2 behind the scenes!

[h2]Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44[/h2]
So, what’s happening in Eugen’s workshop?


All unit profile pictures (infantry, vehicle, and planes) are now done.



New voice acting for Allied New Zealand and Belgian fighter pilots has been recorded, and they are getting the audio post-processing treatment.

Belgian Spitfire New Zealander Tempest

A little bit less sexy, and completely behind the scenes, but we finally tracked down a technical issue that caused a crash - a devious gremlin that plagued us for some time. However, while the hunt was long and hard, we managed to squash this bug!



We have entered the last stretch of balance testing. The Steel Division 2 Strike Team will be allowed to get their hands on the Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44 expansion in the not-too-distant future. And soon as well, we’ll be able to announce a release date!

[h2]Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44 Versus[/h2]
If you want to catch up on Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44, we have a handy forum post linking to all previous

Hello, hello!

Commanders, it is good to be back. We entered a bit of a “quiet time” when it comes to Steel Division 2, but that doesn’t mean we have some nice things to show.

Keep reading to find out more!

[h2]A brief update on Steel Division’s development[/h2]
One reason for the temporary slowdown is that most of the EUGEN team working on Steel Division 2’s Cold War cousin WARNO. The major milestone for this game - GROUCHY - is nearing completion, and as they say in the industry, it’s all “hands on deck” to get it out of the door. Business as usual will return after this!

While things are moving slower, content for Steel Division 2 is progressing nicely. For instance, don’t forget that we have revealed the new Valley of Death map, thematically linked to the next Steel Division 2 Army General expansion, the Dukla Pass. This map will be released for free to all owners of Steel Division 2.

However, we can show the good art progress and tweaked visuals related to the next “divisional expansion,” Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44.

• All art for infantry cards is done and integrated.

• All the new models and variants are finished as well.

• Most of the model reskins have been done, including some airplanes that came out quite nicely!

We added a Belgian Spitfire after we detailed British 7th Armoured Division. One way to differentiate this division from other British battlegroups was to make its airforce multinational. The British Mitchell II bombers were escorted by Spitfires from the Allied Belgian RAF 349 Squadron, as they did in real life during the bombing of Caen in the 7th Armoured Division’s sector. Close support, for instance, will be provided by New Zealand Tempest fighter-bombers. Both planes have been reskinned to show proper squadron markings and national emblems and use correct dialogue acknowledgments.



[h2]Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44 Versus[/h2]
If you want to catch up on Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44, we have a handy forum post linking to all previous Versus posts detailing new Aces, and much more.

Be sure to check it out by following it here.

It also details all the good stuff you’ll be able to play with in Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44, including 14 new divisions, new Aces, new units, and other goodies!

[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
As you know, Steel Division 2 blogs will now be published every two weeks. Until the next time!

Don’t be shy, join the Steel Division 2 community on our Steam forums. The latest Steel Division 2 news can also be encountered on our Instagram.

Looking for an online game? Visit the Discord server or Reddit page and get involved with the lively Steel Division 2 community!

See you on the battlefield, commander!

Hello, commanders!

We are back again. You might have noticed a bit of radio silence, but rest assured, the Eugen team is hard at work on all things Steel Division 2.

We have some exciting details to share with you in today’s post - the preview of a new upcoming map for Steel Division 2, Valley of Death!

Let’s dig in.

[h2]The Valley of Death[/h2]
The new Valley of Death will be the first of two new maps delivered for Steel Division 2. This was promised in our post-summer roadmap, which you can read here. Both maps will be free and released as soon as they are ready. The maps will act as a precursor to the next Army General expansion, the Dukla Pass (check out the details here).



You might think that the Valley of Death is a catchy name thought of by us, but as a matter of fact, it was a real nickname given to a small valley on the border between Poland and Czechoslovakia in the autumn of 1944. The Slovak National Uprising (talked about in this post here) was characterized by one big issue. When sprung, its inability to seize the Dukla Pass, to allow Soviet reinforcements to pour into Slovakia, doomed the uprising from the start. This pass, very narrow and heavily fortified by the Axis, allowed a few determined troops to hold out against many (like a Thermopylae of old).

With the Dukla Pass firmly in German hands, the Soviet plans to reach the Prešov and Košice basin - prime tank country - within five days turned instead into a bloody fifty-day meat grinder. The advance was barely half the way of the original plan. By then, although the Axis forces withdrew, the Slovak National Uprising had been crushed, with Soviet casualties being terribly high.

Forcing the narrow pass wasn’t the only issue. When Soviet units finally reached the end, thinking the worst was behind them, they brought up their armor for a breakthrough operation. However, instead, they faced fortified anti-tank defenses between Dobroslava and Svidnik (the location of our map) and local counter-attacks by Panzer forces.



The once pleasant valley was so littered with Soviet burning and destroyed tank hulls it got the nickname “Valley of Death.” Still to this day, as a reminder, T-34/85 watch over the old battlefield…

[h2]The Valley of Death’s Gameplay[/h2]
The Valley of Death relies on the Svidnik’s real-life terrain height variations. A river splits the area. The actual plain follows the river’s path, creating enough space in its center for a village. You might imagine that most of the inhabitants work in the factory situated on a cultivated plateau on the opposite bank. Nearby farms benefit from rich soil, ideal for livestock farming. Forests are thick, with clear viewing lines.



The other side of the combat zone is defined by very large forests on small hills. Navigating through them is possible but carries risks. It’s easy to ambush a tank column with some well-aimed Panzerfaust shots of infantry hiding behind the trees. The four hills in this sector are on high plateaus, separated by a geological rift. Taking advantage of the rocky edges will give your units excellent sight lines, plus there are some patches of wood to find cover. It might be a vulnerable place, as it is one of the places to get to the enemy flags.



The clear lines of sight and the lightly forested areas are ideal for AA and anti-tank guns to be enplaced. Watch out, as heavy tanks can easily fall prey to well-camouflaged ambushes.



[h2]See you on the battlefield[/h2]
Before we leave you, a short housekeeping note. To better accommodate our workload, we need a bit more time for each blog post. From now on, we’ll be moving to a Steel Division 2 DevBlog, every other week.

Don’t be shy, join the Steel Division 2 community on our Steam forums. The latest Steel Division 2 news can also be encountered on our Instagram.

Looking for an online game? Visit the Discord server or Reddit page and get involved with the lively Steel Division 2 community!

As always, see you on the battlefield, commander!

Hello commanders,

It’s good to be back! We hope the holidays have recharged your batteries, it sure did for the Eugen team! While we don’t have much news to show you in 2024’s first Steel Division 2 DevBlog, rest assured that we have started the new year rock ‘n rolling.

[h2]A short update on Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44[/h2]
A quick update on our upcoming Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44 expansion. We are currently testing all the divisions with our Strike Team while the artists are hard at work polishing the last new models and reskinning existing units. We hope to share more new and exciting things with you soon!





We also took that opportunity to fix the missing Motor Rifles models for UK, with their specific headgear. They will be "retrofitted" to existing Motor Rifles units ingame.



And, cherry on the cake, we created some models in armoured personnel's outfits to interspersed among 7th Armoured's infantry units to represent their veteran status.



[h2]Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44 Versus[/h2]
If you want to catch up on Steel Division: Tribute to Normandy ‘44, we have a handy forum post linking to all previous